Okay well I took measurements (in millimeters), downloaded an educational version of AutoCAD, struggled for a bit to figure out how it works, then came up with dimensions for the front face so far.I forgot to add the LED holes, will do that later.

Here's the AutoCAD file if anyone wants it. Basically a key has a width of 18mm and the space between keys is 1mm. I might go over the casing dimensions between clusters and from clusters to the edge of the case again as I'm going to borrow a set of calipers from my friend. These were done using just a ruler. http://www.mediafire.com/?88ky2a0njbcdtt6

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I have to take care of the 3D aspects of it next. Have to learn how to use AutoCAD a bit more before I tackle that.

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Edit2: I have exams until December 16th, so I won't start working on it till after that.

Edit: Just bought a Filco TKL second hand from the classifieds here because I like brown more than blue so will probably be doing a case for that instead. Waiting for it to arrive in the mail then I'll take some measurements and try to get as many as I can made, which will probably be at most 10. The price will probably be about $30-50 for the case itself and I'll be paying for them all myself and worrying about selling them after, so you won't have to prepay or anything. If and when I do get them, I'll be giving priority to the people that replied first.

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So I recently found out that my friend's dad owns a metalworking company and I asked him if he would be able to make a metal case for my Leopold TKL and we're currently exploring that option. At first I was just going to get one for myself, but then thought that other people here might be interested as well. I wanted to see if I could design something that worked with TKL Leopolds, Filcos and anything else of similar dimension.

I was just going to do the top part of the two part case, because the bottom part has all the cable routing channels and would be considerably harder to manufacture. Also, since you generally don't look at the bottom it's not such a big deal. The next thought that came to mind then was how to attach the metal top to the original bottom, as I'm not sure if replicating the little plastic snap in system that the original Leopold case uses is feasible because the metal likely wouldn't be flexible enough to insert and remove in such a system. I was also wondering if other keyboards use something else.

In any case, if somebody with a TKL keyboard other than a Filco is interested, could you take some precise measurements of your casing (preferably in millimeters)? Things I would need are the size and position of each of the key area cut-outs (esc key area, each of the F* key areas, insert/delete/etc area, and so on), the distance from these areas to the edge of the casing, where any holes for the USB cable would need to be cut and some information/measurements regarding how the top part of the case attaches to the bottom.

Hopefully the cases between the different brands are similar enough that it would need little to no changes between them. If somebody has a good idea about how to attach the metal top to the original bottom I'd be glad to hear it. I'm not sure about how much something like this costs or when we're going to actually get it done, but I was just trying to see if other people were interested so that I can make a more adaptable design rather than just making one for a TKL Leopold.

About measurements, I think that you should check the thread for The Phantom -- which is a PCB (and plate?) for a Filco Tenkeyless case. There has been talk about different keyboard cases in there.

I would suggest that you don't make it fit the original Leopold bottom. Instead, I think that you should design it so that the bottom is made from a piece of sheet metal (or plastic) that fits inside the bottom opening of a routed top case. Then the bottom would not have to be routed, only to be cut and get some counter-sunk screw holes. Use additional plastic spacers (stock parts) to screw it together. If people want to lift the back, then they could put some lifters in the screw holes (see the thread about the alu poker).

I would suggest that you don't make it fit the original Leopold bottom. Instead, I think that you should design it so that the bottom is made from a piece of sheet metal (or plastic) that fits inside the bottom opening of a routed top case. Then the bottom would not have to be routed, only to be cut and get some counter-sunk screw holes. Use additional plastic spacers (stock parts) to screw it together. If people want to lift the back, then they could put some lifters in the screw holes (see the thread about the alu poker).

I have an arcade stick (think arcade cabinet joystick and buttons) I made of wood in this way. The thing that's different here is that the Leopold has cable channels along the original bottom and the detachable USB cable attachment point is not coming out from the back side of the top piece but from partway along the bottom plate inside the channelling, though I suppose it could be moved to stick out through the side.

I have a tenkeyless leopold. I wouldn't want something that was chrome, but a nice brushed aluminum similar to mac cases or a black anodized finish would be awesome. I don't really feel like taking mine apart though. A top half would be great.

I am interested but i fear that the ridiculous shipping costs from the us / canada to the eu will kill, like always, the deal ;(Could you upload the generated CAD file when it is done ? Maybe someone in the eu could handle out something.

The measurement from main to arrow cluster is quite important since it differs between Filco/Leopolds and others. Details here.

Good to know. Would be nicer to have the measurement of the thickness of the casing between the clusters though as that leaves less room for error than measuring between the center of the first switches in the clusters. Would also need the distance from the main cluster to the function row and the spacing between and all other relevant things still.

@TheSoulhunterIndeed it is and there's some sort of group buy going on for it already. I actually just got my Poker in the mail today, so maybe I'll see about making a case for that as well, though it's likely that the one from the other group buy will be a better fit.

@SpharxStill awhile before things get done, but if they do I'll be sure to send you whatever we end up using, feel free to remind if I ever post some pictures of a finished product, but for the next few days I'm drowning in school work. After that I'll start working on the details of this. Just trying to collect some information for now.

Indeed it is and there's some sort of group buy going on for it already. I actually just got my Poker in the mail today, so maybe I'll see about making a case for that as well, though it's likely that the one from the other group buy will be a better fit.

Where? I saw a steel case on the KBC forums, but it was a unikat and sold already :/

If we were able to get filcos to work, this paired with The Phantom board that we are working on would be amazing. I had planned on buying a PLU 87 just for the case, but this, even if it is a lot more expensive would be a much better option.

Will let you know when I figure out the price, but in the brief conversations about it that I've had with my friend it would probably be between $30-50. He said that I wouldn't have to pay anything to use the equipment itself, just for the materials and the labor. He also told me that his dad's shop is mostly for specialty things that can't be made on an assembly line, i.e. he does mostly custom, one-of-a-kind things that he sells for quite a high price, so he doesn't want to make these in mass quantities, but he wouldn't mind making "several" of them. Not sure how many he means by that, but I'm guessing not more than 10 or so, but that seems to be about the level of interest for now.

I'm really occupied at university right now with midterms so I can't quite start giving this the attention it needs but I'll let you know when something starts happening. For the moment I was really more just trying to see if there was enough interest to see if it was worth me trying to get more than one made, and obviously people are interested. If somebody does want it for something like a Filco, I still need measurements though as I only have a Leopold, not only in terms of the spacing of the keywells but also where I would need to put a hole for the USB cable.

I'm still not sure exactly how I want to do the bottom piece, if at all, because I wouldn't be able to mimic the cable routing that the Leopold has on the bottom and I'm not sure if there would be another way to get the detachable mini USB to get to the plug if I didn't have the routing on the bottom. I'll have to open up my case again and see if I can move the mini USB attachment point so that it could reach the backside of the case rather than being in the middle of the bottom side, but even then you'd the lose the routing options and right now I'm actually using the left side route rather than the straight back one, so I'm not too eager to lose it.

I'd like more opinions on that. Should I just make a top metal piece and leave the original bottom so the routing stays intact? It would also keep the cost towards the lower side and leave things more simple, but then you'd have a metal case top with a plastic bottom, but you never see the bottom so I'm not sure that matters. I'm sure that there are some of you that wouldn't be interested without it being fully metal though. Makes me wish that I had a Filco because it would be so much easier to decide in that case as the Filco bottom is flat I assume.